ASU Regents Professor seeks to bring about ‘a better understanding of Native people’ through his works

Regents Professor Donald Fixico is celebrating two major accomplishments this spring: his induction into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame and the publication of his 20th book, “The Lighthorse Police: A History of Tribal Justice” (University of Oklahoma Press). 

Less than 150 individuals have been inducted into the Oklahoma Historical Society's Hall of Fame since its inception in 1993. With his induction on March 19, Fixico will join a group of individuals spanning from his university dissertation advisor to the very man whose name adorned the tower in which Fixico completed his graduate seminars.

"I feel very fortunate to be included with such renowned historians like Angie Debo, E.E. Dale and Arrell Gibson,” Fixico said, “whose books I learned from as a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma."

The Oklahoma Historical Society's website says the honor "recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Oklahoma history through demonstrated excellence in the preservation, collection, interpretation and dissemination of Oklahoma history."

Fixico first enrolled at the University of Oklahoma to study chemical engineering before quickly realizing the subject wasn’t for him. He pivoted his degree path to history, earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree from the university.

Many of Fixico’s publications focus on Native history throughout the West and the United States as a whole, such as “Chitto Harjo: Native Patriotism and the Medicine Way,” "Being Indian and Walking Proud: American Indian Identity and Reality” and “The Urban Indian Experience in America.”

In recent years, he’s narrowed his focus for some works to the state where he was raised, with books like “The State of Sequoyah: Indigenous Sovereignty and the Quest for an Indian State” and his upcoming book, which will be published on April 7.

“I wanted something for all Native people nationwide,” he said. “Then I started focusing on my own state, and that’s been more fun because it brought me closer to my own roots.”

As well as his most recent book, Fixico says the upcoming work is his favorite project he’s worked on to date. It tells the story of the Lighthorse, a national police system adopted by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee and Seminole tribes. The force enacted justice in the land that would become Oklahoma before the state was established in 1907, at which point tribal governments in the area were dissolved. The force reappeared in the 1970s though, and has continued to this day, adopting modern patrol cars and forces like SWAT teams, dive teams and trauma units.

Fixico describes the book as tribal justice history — “outlaws and lawmen and shootouts” — adding that it is more story driven than his other works, with a larger focus on interspersing stories into the chapters to make the reader feel like they are experiencing the history firsthand.

“We need to read about human beings,” Fixico said, adding that readers need to see faces and hear voices to best understand the past.

"I have devoted my academic career to publishing books for people and future generations to have a better understanding of American Indians, their histories and cultures from an Indigenous perspective,” he said. “I hope my work will help Native people living now and for other people to understand Indian issues and our concerns, especially about the natural environment.”